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Offering cross-training to your staff can energize employees and prepare them to fill different roles within the company if necessary, Stephanie Faris writes. Training resources are available on the Internet, and there are also a number of tools you can use to create your own materials, she writes.

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Small businesses can avoid crippling human resources issues by proactively seeking out problems rather than waiting for employees to bring them up, relentlessly documenting investigations or complaints to avoid lawsuits, and creating an employee handbook that details basic policies. Work to stay abreast of labor regulations, hire carefully and spend resources cross-training employees so they can fill in for others if needed.

The holiday season, when many companies face an uptick in demand, can be a challenging period for small-business staffing. Derks Menswear in Canada uses incentives to keep its employees engaged in their work during the holidays, and the company cross-trains its employees to help fill staffing shortfalls in other areas of the business, and planning for who will be taking vacation days is handled long before the holidays roll around.

When you have to let people go, don't think in terms of job function, but rather overall value to the company, Peter Bregman writes. Keep your best performers in place, no matter what department they're in, then cross-train them to take up the slack in areas that get cut. You'll get additional loyalty, and your best employees will learn new skill sets that make them even more valuable.

Small-business owners can bolster staff morale by showing their appreciation with three simple and cost-effective measures, this article suggests. Soliciting employee input on ways to improve the workplace and boost sales, making cross-training available and providing means for parents to stay on the job when their children are sick are the best ways to let employees know their efforts are appreciated.

Instead of having to lay off workers during tough times and then rehire them when things pick up, simply having a flexible work force in place can be a better strategy. Some tips for doing so include hiring older workers, who have shown in many studies to be highly reliable and productive; supplementing your work force with interns; and setting up cross-training and job-sharing programs.